1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrically conducting materials and to a process for the preparation of such electrically conducting materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous methods for imparting electrical conductivity to synthetic polymeric materials in the form of shaped bodies are known in the art. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,533 issued to Arsac, there is proposed one method for imparting electrical conductivity to polymeric shaped materials such as polyamide fibers, in which the fibers are first contacted with hydrogen sulfide and the resulting fibers impregnated with the hydrogen sulfide are then immersed in a metal salt solution such as an aqueous copper sulfate solution, to form a deposit of metal sulfide, such as copper sulfide, on the fibers. This process, however, is not applicable to acrylic fibers. Moreover, the copper sulfide deposit on the fibers obtained according to this process is poor in stability, especially in washability, so that the electrical conductivity gradually decreases during use. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,028 (filed July 15, 1981) owned by Nihon Sanmo Dyeing Co., Ltd., there is disclosed a method for imparting electrical conductivity to acrylic fibers by impregnating the fibers with copper sulfide. Although the electrically conducting fibers obtained by this method exhibit far superior washability in comparison with those obtained according to the method of the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,533, a further improvement in washability is still desired in practice.